Wednesday, July 12, 2000
Halfway highlights — Tiger,
and everyone else
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
A month ago at Pebble Beach, it seemed as
though Tiger Woods was playing a different tournament that the
rest of the field in the U.S. Open. In some respects, he has been
playing a different tour all year.
There's the PGA Tour. And then there's the
Tiger Tour.
No, he doesn't win every week. His tie for
23rd in the Western Open was his first finish out of the top 20
in a stroke-play tournament in 16 months, dating to the 1999 Bay
Hill Invitational.
He doesn't own the rights to every dominant
performance, every sensational comeback, every unforgettable shot.
Still, everyone and everything else has become little more than
a warm-up act.
“There are a lot of great players out
there who aren't getting any credit because Tiger is taking it
all,” Nick Price said.
Heading into the British Open, the only
reasonable manner in which to review the first half of the season
is to distinguish between Woods and the best of the rest:
Best streak
Tiger Tour—Woods won his sixth straight
at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, the longest streak since
Ben Hogan won six in a row in 1948.
PGA Tour—Notah Begay won back-to-back
tournaments, the first player to do that since Woods won three
in a row way back in '99.
Best performance in a major
Tiger Tour—Woods pulled away on the
back nine of the U.S. Open. On Friday. He finished at 12-under
272 — no one else broke par — and his 15-stroke victory
broke the record set in the '62 British Open. That's 1862.
PGA Tour—Vijay Singh. OK, there's only
been one other major. Still, his third round in the Masters was
as good as anything Woods did in the U.S. Open — a 2-under
70 in the nastiest conditions ever at Augusta National. Best comeback
Tiger Tour—Seven strokes down with
seven holes to play, Woods goes eagle-birdie-par-birdie to win
by two over Singh and a stumbling Matt Gogel at Pebble Beach in
February.
PGA Tour—Inspired by being paired with
Woods at Pebble Beach, Jim Furyk rallies from six strokes back
with seven holes to play to overcome Franklin Langham at Doral.
Best Sunday finish
Tiger Tour—Woods holed a sand wedge
from 99 yards for eagle and closed with a 63 in the Byron Nelson
Classic, his lowest final round ever as a professional. Alas,
he missed a three-way playoff by one shot.
PGA Tour—Dudley Hart birdied the last
four holes to win the Honda Classic, the same tournament where
Jack Nicklaus birdied the last five holes to win in 1977. Only
Hart never tacked this up on his bedroom wall.
Best Sunday clothes
Tiger Tour—Red, or some variation.
PGA Tour—Does anyone but Jesper Parnevik
have the courage to wear hot pink pants? And keep a straight face?
Worst collapse
Tiger Tour—Just three strokes behind
in the Nissan Open, Woods closes with a 1-over 72 and finishes
in a tie for 18th. It's the only time in 12 tournaments this year
he has shot over par in the final round.
PGA Tour—Els had a three-stroke lead
over Stewart Cink in the MCI Classic, but played the final 11
holes in 5 over.
Worst Temper
Tiger Tour—TV microphones caught Woods
cussing up a storm when he pulled his drive into the ocean on
the 18th at Pebble Beach.
PGA Tour—TV cameras caught Craig Stadler
slapping his ball away from the hole at the Houston Open after
he missed a putt to extend his four-hole playoff with Robert Allenby.
At least he waited for it to stop moving.
Best shot
Tiger Tour—Tied with Ernie Els on the
18th hole in the Mercedes Championship, Woods hit his approach
into the 663-yard hole to about 12 feet and made the putt for
eagle.
PGA Tour—Els followed and hit a 2-iron
inside Woods, then buried the eagle putt on top of him to force
a playoff.
Best Sunday score
Tiger Tour—Woods' 8-under 64 was the
lowest final round by a champion in the history of the Pebble
Beach National Pro-Am.
PGA Tour—Mickelson shot a 2 to win
the BellSouth Classic. Of course, he only played one hole in a
rain-shortened playoff over Nicklaus. Gary Nicklaus.
Worst TV decision
Tiger Tour—The CBS affiliates who chose
not to show Woods' dramatic comeback in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
PGA Tour—CBS, which chose the “Jesus”
miniseries over the final hole of a playoff between Davis Love
III and Parnevik in the Nelson Classic.
Victory drought
Tiger Tour—Twice this year, Woods has
gone all of three tournaments without winning.
PGA Tour—Love has now gone 51 tournaments
without winning.
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